Product description

This groundbreaking collection brings together Walerian Borowczyk s key films from a twenty-five-year period stretching from 1959 through to 1984.

This unique release includes five of Borowczyk s provocative feature films: Theatre de M et Mme Kabal, Goto, l ile d amour, Blanche, Contes Immoraux and La Bete as well as his groundbreaking short films from this period.

Not only are many of these films available on Blu-ray and DVD for the first time, but also in new digital high definition restorations approved by the director s widow, Ligia Branice.

In addition to exclusive documentaries featuring cast and crew, an hour long portrait of Borowczyk is to be included, featuring the director s musings on painting, animation and sex.

Accompanying this seminal release is a book edited by Borowczyk experts Daniel Bird and Michael Brooke featuring newly commissioned essays on Borowczyk s films and art, as well as an account of the meticulous restoration process involved.

To round off the release is, for the first time, an English translation of Borowczyk s 1992 collection of short stories, Anatomy of the Devil, translated by the director's assistant, Michael Levy.

Arrow Academy s Walerian Borowczyk Collection is a vital addition to anyone interested in either world cinema, animation or experimental film.

Limited Edition collection featuring five feature films:

Theatre of Mr & Mrs Kabal (1967)

Goto, Isle of Love (1968)

Blanche (1971)

Immoral Tales (1974)

The Beast (1975)

And the short films:

The Astronauts (1959)

The Concert (1962)

Grandmother's Encyclopaedia (1963)

Renaissance (1963)

Angels' Games (1964)

Joachim's Dictionary (1965)

Rosalie (1966)

Gavotte (1967)

Diptych (1967)

The Phonograph (1969)

A Private Collection (1973)

Venus on the Half-Shell (1975)

The Greatest Love of All Time (1978)

Scherzo Infernal (1984)

LIMITED EDITION BOX SET SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

Brand new 2K restorations of Borowczyk s films

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the films and extras

Newly translated English subtitles

THE SHORT FILMS & THEATRE OF MR AND MRS KABAL

Introduction by filmmaker Terry Gilliam

Film is not a Sausage: Borowczyk s Short Films A new interview programme featuring Borowczyk, producer Dominique Duvergé-Ségrétin, assistant André Heinrich and composer Bernard Parmegiani

Blow Ups A new visual essay by Daniel Bird concerning Borowczyk s works on paper

Top customer reviews

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A very high benchmark for quality blu-ray releases, Arrow Academy's Walerian Borowczyk boxset is a joy.

The films:Theatre of Mr & Mrs Kabal. A surreal animated piece of experimental cinema which no doubt influenced Terry Gilliam's Mony Python illustrations.Goto, Isle of Love. Political prison-based drama from the late 60s. Good satirical drama but not much of Borowczyk's famed erotic style.Blanche. Like Polanski meets Pasolini, lovely medieval drama with restrained images and a dark finale.Immoral Tales. Borowczyk's infamous portmanteau of erotic stories, including the superb "Elizabeth Bathory".The Beast. Once banned, a justifiably notorious film that flits from arthouse period drama to crazy near-porn in the blink of an eye.

The short films:These are mainly animation and most of them are on the same disc as Theatre of Mr & Mrs Kabal. They're experimental too, often with no or little narrative. The highpoint is arguably Borowczyk's haunting holocaust allegory, Angels Games.A Private Collection appears in two versions as an extra on the Immoral Tales disc. The theatrical version is rude enough but the director's cut is much more explicit. It is not for the easily offended!

The transfers:All the films and shorts look exceptional in HD. one segment of Immoral Tales, Therese Philosopher, has a softer look than the others but that's because it was shot on 16mm. The rest of the film was shot on 35mm.Pictures are clean and bright, French audio is clear, English subtitles are easy to read.

The extras:Introduction to each feature.Documentary on Borowczyk's early works.1 hour of behind the scenes footage for The BeastTrailersAlternate film festival version of Immoral Tales, including the rare extra segment: a shorter version of The BeastMaking of Goto documentaryInterviews with producers, Borowczyk's widow, directorial assistants etc.Glossy 344-page book with essays, interviews and original Short stories by Borowczyk.

The five films and the shorts are also available as standalone dual format releases, with all the extras and individual booklets containing excerpts from the boxset's book. SO don't worry too much if you miss out on the limited box, you can still order these beautiful releases individually.

Borowczyk is one of my favorite directors and seeing these films in high definition is an experience. My hat's off to Arrow. The boxset includes a generously (belive me, generously!) illustrated book, very complete indeed. I've learned a lot from Daniel Bird and Michael Brooke, all his commentaries about eastern european cinema rule. Vital addition to anyone interested in real cinema..

Widely regarded as one of the most important cult directors of all time, Borowczyk's important films were collected, remastered together for the very first time on Blu-ray, which was far beyond my expectations. All I can say about this is "A Work of Brilliance".

Most helpful customer reviews on Amazon.com

Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars
1 reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsThis is an absolutely amazing set, a treasure

ByYakov Varganovon 6 July 2017 - Published on Amazon.com

This is an absolutely amazing set, a treasure! This was my introduction to the cinema of Walerian Borowczyk and my world has never been the same. I was lucky to get mine through the crowdfunding compain.